We, as chefs, farmers and butchers, believe passionately that veal produced from the UK’s organic dairy farms should not be regarded as a poor relation of the meat business. The zeal with which organic farmers pursue their animal welfare does not stop at dairy cows – they rear their dairy calves with the attention they devote to their other stock.
The calf’s mother goes back into the organic dairy herd, producing the pints, the yoghurts and the cheeses that millions of us enjoy every day. The calf can face an uncertain future at that point, and consumers play a big role here.
The typical male dairy calf will never turn itself into a great beef animal, but good farming will produce superb meat from these livestock, at a younger age. This veal should not be tarred with the same brush as the imported white slab of protein too often served in the UK.
This is robust meat, mature meat, pink in colour, aged for flavour and a good bite. Food to grace any table. This is not veal from dimly lit crowded pens.
These animals enjoy a very full life, with plenty of space and light, inside suitable buildings over winter and outside at pasture for the rest of the year; a varied diet; and the care of a foster cow when available.
We want to remove the stigma attached to these animals. With a life span of six months, they live twice as long as even the slowest growing chicken; they have the same life span as a good organic pig, and longer than many organic lambs.
We, as chefs, farmers and butchers, believe passionately that veal produced from the UK’s organic dairy farms should not be regarded as a poor relation of the meat business. The zeal with which organic farmers pursue their animal welfare does not stop at dairy cows – they rear their dairy calves with the attention they devote to their other stock.
